Marta Mateus made her debut at Cannes with the short film Barbs Wastelands, and then came for its Greek Premiere at the 9th AAGFF. We are happy that she is joining us again for the screening of her first feature film, Fire of the Wind. A story of peasant revolts and oppression by landowners, two centuries of Portuguese history condensed into a magnificent composition, transitions from frenetic pursuits to stillness conveyed in sequence shots. The beauty and the power of the narrative often have reminiscences of the Taviani brothers and Angelopoulos. Yet Mateus has developed a distinctive style of her own, sculpting images from the trapping of local wine pickers who take refuge in the trees to escape the persecution of landowners as they are visited by the ghosts of Ηistory.

Filmmaker and producer, Marta Mateus (born 1984) studied philosophy, drawing and photography, music and theater. Her first film, Barbs, Wastelands (2017), was shown at the Quinzaine des Cinéastes, selected for various festivals, and won the Grand Prize at Vila do Conde and Hiroshima. She has participated in several group exhibitions with video and sound installations. In 2018, she was an artist-member of the Casa de Velázquez, Académie de France à Madrid and created the production company Clarão Companhia. Fire of the Wind is her first feature film.